Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations

Weeding Out The Rhetoric From The Facts On Sanders’ ‘Medicare For All’ Plan

The New York Times examines various claims -- like that the majority of people are in support of a single-payer system -- surrounding the proposal advanced by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Meanwhile, Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) asks the Congressional Budget Office to score the bill, which could make it an even tougher sell than it already is.

The New York Times:
‘Medicare For All’: Is It Popular? And Is It The Same As Britain’s System?
As leading Democrats embrace Senator Bernie Sanders’s proposal to vastly expand Medicare to cover all Americans, Republicans are fighting back with familiar critiques of such a single-payer system. Mr. Sanders argued for his “Medicare for all” legislation in an Op-Ed published in The New York Times on Wednesday, while his Republican colleagues dismissed the idea in a news conference. Here’s an assessment of their claims. (Qiu, 9/14)

The Wall Street Journal:
Single-Payer Health Care Could Be A Tough Sell, Polling Shows
Single-payer health care, or as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) calls it, “Medicare for all,” is becoming a rallying cry for many Democrats in Congress. But are Americans behind the idea of mandatory government-provided insurance? Polling from the summer tells us that it could be a tough sell. Only 33% of the overall public supports a “single payer” approach to health care, according to the Pew Research Center’s June poll. Among Democrats and those who lean Democrat, Pew says 52% support single-payer, up from 33% in March 2014. (Jamerson, 9/14)

The Hill:
Senator Asks For CBO Score Of Sanders's Single-Payer Bill
Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) is asking congressional scorekeepers to analyze the cost of Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-Vt.) “Medicare for all” bill, which could fuel Republican attacks that a single-payer health-care system would bankrupt the country. In a letter to the head of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, Barrasso — the Senate Republican Policy Committee chairman — wrote he was “deeply concerned that Senator Sanders’ Medicare-for-All legislation is not only a government takeover of health care, but would also put financial burdens on the American people that they cannot sustain.” (Roubein, 9/14)

The Washington Post:
Sanders Enlists Canadians To Sell Single Payer
The day after he finally unveiled his legislation to turn Medicare into universal health insurance, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) built on his momentum in an unusual way: a 32-minute interview with a Canadian doctor. “We have a very, very exciting show!” Sanders said, kicking off his occasional podcast and introducing Danielle Martin, a Toronto physician and academic. “She’s kind of a household name in America now.” (Weigel, 9/14)

The Hill:
Trump Calls Sanders Single-Payer Plan A ‘Curse On The US’
President Trump on Thursday called Sen. Bernie Sanders's (I-Vt.) "Medicare for all" plan a "curse on the U.S.” "Bernie Sanders is pushing hard for a single payer healthcare plan - a curse on the U.S. & its people," Trump tweeted. "I told Republicans to approve healthcare fast or this would happen. But don't worry, I will veto because I love our country & its people." (Hellmann, 9/14)

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